CIRCADIAN RHYTHM

Nights

Waxing
Moonlight splashed through the window. The weary wizard looked out at the palely-lit courtyard behind the old house, where a young witch lounged, leaning against the garden wall, watching fireflies, her hair changing colour in rhythm with the flashing lights around her. Remus smiled.

He joined her under the gibbous moon. Her hand sought his; Remus let her take it.

"I thought you didn't like moonlight, Remus."

"I was attracted by something else entirely." He touched her hair.

"I thought I would have to come to you, like a female firefly seeking her mate."

"Not tonight, Tonks, not tonight."

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Fortuitous
Why she'd been sent with this midnight message was beyond comprehension. She could barely stand being in the same room with the dog. He was a prime example of arrested development. Literally. Snickering, Hestia started up the stairs to find him.

She tripped over his slippers and fell into his arms.

"Do you always leave your slippers there?" she groused.

"Why? Would you like to find out?" His voice was dark and hoarse in her ear.

Suddenly aware of his earthy scent, like fresh loam after spring rains, she looked up, seeing Sirius as if for the first time.

- - - - - - - - - -

Presence

He turned in the darkness, waking when he encountered an unexpected fragrance, like jasmine and rose with a hint of spice. Reaching out, he found another surprise. Soft hair, soft cheek, bare neck, bare shoulder. Slowly, memory seeped into his sleepy brain; he smiled. He touched her cheek again, reassuring himself of her reality, her continued presence. Rousing to his touch, she breathed deeply, letting it out with a content sigh, and moved closer to his warmth.

Her arm around him, Minerva whispered, "You're really here."

"For as long as you will have me, my dear."

"Forever," she replied.

- - - - - - - - - -

Love

Pomona stepped from the shower, cocked an ear, then smiled. Filius was singing. She couldn't make out the words, but it was probably one of those popular Muggle tunes he had recently taken to. Wrapping a towel around herself, she carefully opened the door and peeked into her bedroom. Her smile grew. Filius was dancing, nude and happy, with a pair of her knickers, holding them out before him as he sang, "She loves me, yeah, yeah, yeah! She loves me, yeah, yeah, yeah!" It seemed those were the only lyrics he knew. Or the only ones that mattered.

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Home

This drabble can be found on other sites where this fic is posted. It contains explicit language and I want to keep my fics on ffnet "teen-friendly."

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A/N: Fireflies are also known as "glow worms," "lightning bugs," and, sometimes, "fire beetles." In some species of firefly (family Lampyridae), the females seek their mates, which remain stationary and luminesce; in others, the female fireflies remain stationary and glow while the male fireflies fly to them. Other species of firefly use the bioluminescence to attract prey, rather than a mate.Not all members of the firefly family even glow at all. The use of "firefly" in the Remus/Tonks drabble was meant to be artistic and not scientific.

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